... but second is FIRE! Nuff said.

This is a candidate for best Hallowe'en show. They played 12; we have 10 [sans '66 & '67], and weirdly all are great. Well, less so '90 & '91, but you can't say that about every NYE or every 4th of July. I would put this above Hallowe'en '79, '80 or '85, for what it's worth. Earlier on the tour they played the great show in Rochester, and later are the back-to-back smokers in Ft. Worth & Austin. But this show has long had the cachet of being culled for Dick's #2, released during the band's final year. This was their only time at the lavish Ohio Theater, which had just been saved from demolition and refurbished. Skull Fuck had just arrived in stores this month, from which they played 7 songs, helping newbies onto the bus. This is during the first Keith tour (Pig was absent), which starts getting its hottest right here. It was an oversight that DiP2 was just one disc, but the SBDs are slightly different, with more Keith in a couple places, and less Bobby. The separation sounds different chiefly because the channels are switched on some sources.

First Set. The very beginning of Bertha was not recorded. The mix settles in and Jer takes off the best he can. Me & My Uncle is wonderful and Keith is great. It's also a pat Deal and a sparkling Playing in the Band. Loser-SS is solid enough but El Paso is as good as '71 gets (the beginning is cut). Like most of the next batch, Tennessee Jed was new this tour. It's an ace, but unfortunately has a cut @5:30, right in the middle of the solo. Likewise, the beginning is missing from Jack Straw. It and Big Railroad very much have the Strat sound that Jer preferred at the time. Mexicali is crazy nailed, Cumberland Blues is just potent. One More Saturday has "maybe you'll get crazy/could be having fun".

Second Set. A Dark Star off the top. This one is noted for having the final Tighten Up jam (@13:25); an outlier; a Proustian reappearance of the 1970 theme. IMHO though, the rest of this Dark Star does little for me. See what you think. I do like the first jam in this Sugar Mag. Then comes the last St. Stephen for five years. Maybe it's not 8/24, but it still impresses. It goes into a Not Fade that spirals upward, reaching a delicious jam, into a Goin' Down the Road that has a unique, playful Twilight jam, @8:45 (a reel flip @3:35 in NFA is almost unnoticeable in SBD or OFF). The encore leaves 'em stunned.

1st Set:  A-
2nd Set: B+
Overall = 4¾ stars

Highlights:
Me & My Uncle - great Keith, too
Deal - great example of a '71
Playing in the Band - sparkling
El Paso - big version of this oater
Tennessee Jed - even a reel flip doesn't diminish
Mexicali Blues - see El Paso
Cumberland Blues - potent
St. Stephen - temp final impresses
Not Fade Away - first one has delicious jam
Goin' Down the Road - playful Twilight jam
Johnny B. Goode - leaving 'em stoked

SOURCES: The miller_79011 has all but the OFF released tracks, and has the channels switched. The 142426_sbd_gans has it all, but needs -1% pitch correction for JBG, which is missing the tuning at the beginning, and it also has the channels switched on Bertha, M&MU, and Deal. The second set, sans encore, is on Dick's Picks vol. 2.

Interesting that there's so few reviews of this show in the archive. Probably on account of its official release status. Single disc beauty. At any rate, while I'm partial to the Chicago shows on 10/21 and 10/22, I really love this show- especially the missing/cut first set. Just love me some fall '71 cowboy dead. That Deal is so sweet, so slow and groovy, mmm. That second set closing NFA->GDTRFB->NFA absolutely shreds. Someone say Dark Star?

This is a mighty fine show with a nice first set.A fresh keith is gr8 pn the keys this evening.Set 2 is legendary to say the least.The sound quality is ofcourse incendiary.Thank you so much to everyone involved your efforts are much appreciated.